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Solitary Man: American III | 
| Artist: Johnny Cash
Label: Rhino
Category: Music
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £6.37
You Save: £3.62 (36%)
New (32) Used (4) from £3.75
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 794
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.4
EAN: 5051011279423
ASIN: B000E8R9MK
Release Date: February 13, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | I Won't Back Down | | • | Solitary Man | | • | That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) | | • | One | | • | Nobody | | • | I See A Darkness | | • | Mercy Seat | | • | Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone) | | • | Field Of Diamonds | | • | Before My Time | | • | Country Trash | | • | Mary Of The Wild Moor | | • | I'm Leavin' Now | | • | Wayfaring Stranger |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
As the title suggests, this is the third of the albums that Cash has recorded since his career was resuscitated in 1993 by a fortuitous coming together with Def American founder Rick Rubin. Though Rubin was principally famous as a hip-hop producer, he brought out the best in Cash, having the sense to strip the recordings back to the bare minimum needed to support Cash's peerless voice. The first two records they made together, American Recordings and Unchained were two of the best albums of Cash's long and incalculably influential career, and Solitary Man is better than either. The album is about evenly split between Cash originals and covers of traditional songs that have influenced him, and newer material clearly written under his influence. His own songs embrace both the unabashed spiritualism of his under-regarded gospel recordings ("Field Of Diamonds", "Before My Time") and his eternal fascination with the rural America he was born into ("Country Trash"), and they are just great. The real gems, however, are the covers. Though Cash could now bring a baleful, Old Testament portent to "I Should Be So Lucky", his knelling baritone finds a hundred new shades of black in Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man", Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat" and, most surprisingly but most effectively, U2's "One". --Andrew Mueller
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
Very, very suggestive performances July 15, 2008
Not being an expert on country music or on Johnny Cash, I must say this album is moving and very very suggestive; with simple but clever arrangements, beautiful songs and amazing vocal...
Obviously more than merely touched by age and various ailments, mr. Johnny Cash performes with great passion and suggests wisdom no young singer can convey (or even come close to conveying)...
I like it very much!
2nd Best of the American Series June 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Of the 5 American Series Cash released during his last years, this album is my 2nd favorite, very close to being IMHO as good as my favorite, A Man Comes Around IV. The main difference is that IV includes a few out of this world tracks that give it the edge over this one.
That is not to say that no stand out tracks are included on this set. No less practically half of the album reaches the status of being exceptional. Tom Petty sings along with Cash on the opening two tracks, the first being a Petty cover, I Won't Back Down. Petty's version is good but somewhat dated (Jeff Lynn produced it), Cash's version is more straight forward and much better. A similar analogy can be made of the next track, Solitary Man, a very straight forward version with a silent despair.
U2's One is another track which Cash does much much better (I am a huge U2 fan and think that their version is great). The text shines in this version and actually adds a different dimension to the song itself. After a solid and powerful start the set slows down somewhat with I See Darkness and The Mercy Seat. The latter track is a Nick Cave cover in which Cash interprets the anguish someone feels being on death row and about to be electrocuted; very powerful song and the end where the admission of guilt is followed by bar room piano playing in a macabre fashion is not to be missed.
Mary of the Wild Moor and Wayfaring Stranger are the main tracks at the latter half of this album. Although most of those tracks are not as good as the first tracks of the album, none of them have any filler feel to them.
Although I prefer IV, this album is also a must purchase for any Cash fan and those who would like to add some Cash to their collection should not let this album pass them by. Of the American Series, this may even be the most even album and probably has the most direct straight forward production, brimful of guitars and solid tracks.
Perhaps the best late Cash album May 20, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This 3rd album in the 'American' series of recordings is amongst the best things Johnny Cash has ever done. As with all the late Cash recordings there is a running thread of passionate honesty and realism that runs throughout the entire the album.
Typical of this is the opening track "I Won't Back Down". Cash is defiant on this track: "Well I know whats right, I got just one life, in a world that keeps on pushing me around, but I stand my ground and I won't back down". This track like the rest is stripped down to a bare minimum. Accoustic guitar with some extra backing vocals on the chorus is all you get, and of because of Cash's fantastic lived in voice, this works to perfection.
Its Cash's voice and the sparse arrangements on this album that make all the covers sound like they were written for him. Neil Diamonds "Solitary Man" and U2's "One" being perhaps the best examples of this. However the best track full stop is Cash's great cover of Nick Caves "The Mercy Seat". Here Cash again restates the running theme through his final albums "I am not afraid die". Full credit to producer Rick Rubin for the arrangement on this track which adds to the already powerful lyric.
I've only just purchased this and I haven't stopped playing it.
The best album I've heard in years May 10, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have bought American 2, 3 and 4 so far and this is my favourite. The selection of songs is second to none and Cash rises to the occasion to give a powerful set of performances despite his ailing health. What I love about this album is the passion, humour and defiance of a man nearing the end but determined to go out fighting.
I have bought a lot of albums over the years and I have a reasonably eclectic taste in music and for me this CD stands out because there is no hype, nothing to prove and no showing off, its just an honest portrait of a man late in his career warts and all.
 One of his finest April 13, 2006
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
From start to finish, this album is fantastic and is a superb example of Cash's unique voice. This album has a distinctly more modern feel than his earlier work - 'Solitary Man' presents us with guitar ballards rather than the 'country + western' music which brought him worldwide fame. However, this album never loses sight of what Cash's music is about: perhaps most clearly shown in his version of Nick Cave's 'The Mercy Seat' - here, Cash's deep and frail voice complements a very lyrical song perfectly. One of the great things about this album is that, although the majority of songs on it are covers, Cash has arranged and performs them in a distinctly personal way and consequently the album has a refreshingly origional feel to it. If you liked 'The Man Comes Around', you'll love this album.
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